Veganmama: Lol, I was wondering where you were. Thank you!

Kryten: Lol that's a great idea! I should have used Les miserables' music and scene for this opening. But, I hope that what I came up with will be just as good.

Cre8ivelybankrupt87: Actually, he was impressed with her. He knew to be a no nonsense and all action type of girl, but this is the first time where she took such a big initiative, albeit a risky one, and succeeded in neutralizing Von Scheck.


Earlier that morning...in Arnold's room…

Once everyone else left for the mission, Nadine, Harold, Patty, Lila, Sheena and Brainy remained in Arnold's room and waited for the signal to initiate plan B. Although they woke up around the same time as everyone else, it was going to be a long wait before they would be able to set their plan into motion, if at all.

"I hope everyone will be okay." Lila remarked with a worrying look. "I'm ever so not enjoying just sitting here, waiting while our friends are heading towards danger."

"I know, Lila. I don't like sitting around either." Sheena said. "But we need to stay put in case if things go wrong there. If they do, we'll be the only things that can help them."

"Ugh, when can we go and get something to eat?" Harold complained. "All of this is sitting around is making me hungry."

"Harold, you just ate breakfast and you're not doing anything." Patty remarked.

"Not doing anything is doing something." Harold said back. "I'm going to go to the fridge and get something to eat – Hey!" He said, but then he felt someone pull him right back down.

"No, you're not!" Patty softly, but very sternly said to him as she pulled him right back down. "If we get that call, we'll need to leave right away."

"Ugghh!" Harold just groaned as he sat back down and just pouted.

"Well, while we're waiting, let's go over what we need to do one more time." Nadine suggested.

Even though they had gone through the plan multiple times already, it was better than just sitting around doing nothing. Plus, everyone knew they couldn't afford making any mistakes or causing any delays, so everyone agreed to go over the plan again.

Brain meanwhile was typing away on Arnold's computer, busy creating and organizing the many posts and messages he was going to send out through Rhonda's many social media accounts once he was given the green light. In order to make these posts and message appear authentic, he had to use the right kind of words and language that will make people think that it was Rhonda herself who created them, not someone else. To do that, he had to first go through the previous posts Rhonda herself had made and posted, meticulously reading them and memorizing the kinds of words and phrases she would often use. Once he grew comfortable enough, he began to type away.

Even after going through the plan, the group still anxiously waited for the call throughout that early morning. Even as the sun rose and the city became bright, there was still no phone call from Phoebe. While they waited, everyone couldn't help but feel a bit conflicted. If the call to initiate plan B never came through, that meant that Rodrigo's original plan succeeded and they made out of there unscathed! However, that would have also meant that Nadine, Lila, Harold, Patty, Sheena and Brainy played no role on stopping Von Scheck, a thought that bothered everyone in the room, since they all wanted to contribute. On the other hand, if the call did come through, then they would suddenly be at the center of it all, but that would mean their friends are not only in danger, but the plan to put Von Scheck away had either failed or was in danger of failing. It was a bit of a conundrum really.

Just then, Nadine's cell vibrated, getting everyone's attention. Upon hearing it, Nadine frantically went to go and grab it and took the call.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Nadine, it's Phoebe!" Phoebe frantically replied. "You are to initiate Plan B. I repeat, plan B is a go! Rodrigo, Helga, Arnold and Gerald have been discovered and are trying to evade capture. Hurry!"

"Oh no!" Nadine exclaimed in shock. "We're on it." As she then hanged up and then looked at her team.

"We're on, guys." She said to everyone and they immediately began to head out.

"Brainy, plan B is a go. You can post the messages and posts online and meet us there." Nadine instructed him.

Brainy smiled and gave her a thumbs up before then turning back to face the computer and began uploading all of the posts and messages on Rhonda's social media accounts.

Everyone wasted no time and hurriedly went down stairs and right outside. Nadine meanwhile, while still having to use crutches, made her way towards Phil's and Gertie's bedroom as fast as she could. Trying to get down the stairs was a challenge, but she eventually made it. She then made her way down the hall and straight for Arnold's grandparents' bedroom.

"Mr. and Mrs. Shortman! Mr. and Mrs. Shortman!" Nadine frantically called out as she banged on the door.

It took some time, but eventually the banging achieved the result and the door opened, revealing a still half sleeping Phil.

"Wha-what is it?" Phil asked as he yawned, appearing with his night cap and male pajama gown that extended all the way to his knees. "What's all the ruckus?"

"I'm sorry to wake you, Mr. Shortman," Nadine began to frantically speak.

"Oh enough with the formalities, Nadine. Just call me Phil." Before Phil then interjected. "Now what is this all about?"

"It's Arnold, Phil. He's in trouble!" Nadine bluntly stated the issue.

"Arnold?" Phil said, now fully awake. "What happened?"

"What's all this noise?" Gertie then approached the door entrance as she yawned. "And what's this about Arnold being in trouble?"

"Well, his permit to hold a protest rally in front of the FTI building got mysteriously declined," Nadine began to explain, "so Arnold took it up himself to go to Future Tech's headquarters and confront Von Scheck himself about-"

"Von Scheck?!" Both Phil and Gertie shouted in horror.

"Holy patchouli!" Phil exclaimed in shock. "What was Arnold thinking on trying to confront Von Scheck in person?!Oh those teens and their hormones! C'mon Pookie, we gotta go and save him!" As he then scurried over to Ernie's door.

When everyone was individually leaving Arnold's room to gather supplies the previous day, Arnold asked Rodrigo to stay behind in order to come up with an alternative plan should things go sour inside the FTI building. Arnold suggested that they should use whatever support they might still have in the city and rally them to hold an illegal protest after all, right in front of the FTI building, both as a distraction and to apply social pressure on the company. Rodrigo initially dismissed the idea, arguing that after their failed protest at City Hall and without Rhonda's support, they had very few people who would still show their support. That's when Arnold told him about their secret weapon.

He explained that everyone will show up if they knew he, Gerald and Helga were in trouble. Arnold said that he is fully aware of his, Gerald's and Helga's celebrity status as local heroes, especially his. While he knows that after trying a few times to rally people to protest his influence had waned a bit, he placed a good bet that if people knew he was in some sort of trouble, they would be more willing to show up and offer their support. What better way to arouse a people's anger and get them to protest than to spread the word that one of the city's most respected citizens is being physically attacked by a corrupt, multi-billion dollar company and CEO?

After thinking about it for a bit, Rodrigo eventually agreed to the idea, but stated that the only thing they need to ensure was to make the message as vague as possible, enough to make it look like Arnold and his friends are the victims and FTI and Von Scheck are the villains. Which meant that no one needed to know about their attempt to break into the company a third time. They weren't lying to anyone, they were just omitting that part and even that was temporary. Anyone who would show up to support them will eventually learn the truth. Rodrigo explained that if people knew they broke into the building a third time, it might not have the same affect since they technically put themselves in harms way, not to mention that they were now teenagers and might not be viewed woefully sympathetic as last time. Arnold, although not every keen on 'omitting' that part of the message, nevertheless understood Rodrigo's logic and agreed to it.

When everyone returned to Arnold's room later that day with the supplies, both teens spoke to Nadine, Sheena, Harold, Patty and Lila about the change in plans, now Plan B and explained to them that all they needed to say was that 'Arnold is in trouble' and to mention Von Scheck's name somewhere there.

"Ernie! Ernie, wake up!" Phil frantically knocked on his door.

"What is it, Phil? Can't you see I'm trying to get some-" Ernie, still half asleep, began to retort at Phil when he saw something that horrified him. "Oh for Pete's sake old man, put on pants, would ya?! No one wants to see that!"

"Pipe down, shortstuff!" Phill snapped back at him. "It's Arnold, he's in trouble! Von Scheck has him and we need to go and save him."

"What?! You're kidding!" Ernie said, shocked by the news.

"No I'm not kidding." Phil retorted. "I'm not Oskar here! Now get ready; we need to go and help him!"

"Alright, but put on pants, please." Ernie begged as he then went back inside to get ready.

Phil then quickly went over and knocked on Oskar's and Mr. Hyunh's doors. Once they opened, he quickly explained to them what the situation was, much to their shock, both by the news and also the fact that he wasn't wearing any pants.

Huh. I guess Rodrigo was right. Nadine thought as she looked on while the message started circulating on its own. Worked like a charm.

"Hurry! Get ready!" Phil exclaimed to them as he then started to run back to his room to get dressed.

"Okay, okay, but please put on some pants, old man!" Oskar begged.

"Phil, wait!" Nadine then called out to him. "You can't go over there alone. That place is heavily guarded. You'll need everyone's help."

"Everyone?" Phil asked.

"Yes. Lila, Harold, Patty and Sheena are on their way right now to inform the others. We'll need all the help we can get if we are to save them."

"Them?" Phil asked again, now getting more worried.

"It's not just Arnold that's in trouble." Nadine explained. "Gerald, Helga, Rodrigo, Rhonda, Peapod Kid, Sid and Stinky are with him inside the building."

"What?!" Phil shouted in horror. "They're in trouble too?!" To which Nadine nodded. "Oh no! This is worse than I thought. We need to get everyone on board, stat!"

At the Pataki's residence…

Lila run through the neighbourhood as quickly as she could, heading straight towards Helga's house.

I need to ever so hurry up! She thought. There isn't much time.

It was now a little bit past 9 in the morning and despite that most of the residents were either still asleep or just waking up, the Patakis were already wake, busy moving boxes and furniture and loading them into the moving truck that was parked right outside of their house. Because of the short time frame, Bob, much to his irritation, had to resort to getting a hotel room for his family for the time being until a new suitable home was located and purchased.

"Grr! Why is this box so heavy? What did you pack in here, Miriam, a corpse?" Bob grunted as he struggled to carry the big box onto the moving truck."

"Oh, that's one of the dinnerware box, B." Miriam said. "Be careful with those."

"Alright, alright." He grumbled as he stepped onto the ramp, put the box inside the truck and then made his way back inside the house to continue packing.

Olga was just coming out of the house with some smaller boxes.

"Hey, where's that other girl, anyways?" Bob asked her. "She is supposed to be here helping us move. It's not my job to be moving her things!"

"Oh um, Helga wanted to spend some time with her friends." Olga replied to cover for her. "You know, being as how everyone is moving away, she wanted to say goodbye to them."

"Why is she getting all sentimental about this? We're just moving across the city. We're not leaving the country, sheesh!" Bob retorted as he then went back inside the house. "Tell her to stop mopping around and to get back here and help us. Otherwise, we're leaving her stuff here!"

"I will, daddy." She sweetly said to him, before then hopping onto the moving truck to load the boxes.

As she did so,

"Olga! Olga!" She heard Lila yell her name as she frantically ran towards her.

"Little sister?" Olga said when she looked up and saw her. "What are you doing here?"

"Olga…!" Lila gasped for breath when she finally reached her. "I'm ever so...glad I...found you here." She continued to gasp.

"Why? What's wrong?" She asked when she said her distraught look.

"It's Arnold and Helga!" Lila then frantically began to tell her. "They are in trouble. They went over to the FTI headquarters building to confront Von Scheck and stop him from trying-"

"What?! Von Scheck?!" Olga interrupted and yelled in absolute shock, immediately realizing the danger Helga was in. "Oh no, baby sister!"

Olga then immediately ran back inside the house to inform her parents.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Olga yelled for them as she ran back inside.

"What is it, dear?" Miriam asked as she popped her head out from the living room.

"Mommy, Helga's in trouble!" Olga said to her while panicking. "Where's daddy?"

"What's all the ruckus down there?" Bob then suddenly annoyingly asked as he climbed down the stairs. "Why is she here and how come you're not moving any boxes?" He asked Olga when he saw Lila come inside.

"Daddy, Helga's in trouble!" Olga tearfully said to her. "She and Arnold went over to confront Von Scheck and he now has them! He's kidnapped my baby sister! We gotta do something!" She panickingly shouted.

"Um big sister, that's really not-" Lila began to say, but then decided against trying to correct her about what happened to Helga. Despite that her being kidnapped was not necessarily true, it was having the necessary affect. Plus, for all Lila knew, it could now be true.

Even though Olga was leaned against him, Bob said nothing and remained absolutely frozen when he heard her, his facing displaying a shocking look, but otherwise stood still, not even to blink. His mind started to completely race around in his head with many different thoughts and emotions that was he wasn't able to comprehend them.

Olga eventually managed to get a grip to realize that Bob hadn't said or done anything. She straightened herself and waited for him to say something, but when it became clear that Bob was rendered completely speechless, she opted to say something.

"Daddy?" She calmly said to him. "Did you hear what I said?"

Bob made no attempt to respond back and just continued in his catatonic state.

"B?" Miriam asked him when she saw him to be unresponsive. "Are you alright?"

Again, Bob remained firmly motionless and just stared out into space. However, his skin color soon began to change. All three females began to see Bob's face turning red. Then, his facial expression changed from shocking to outright scowling, as he also began to show and grind his teeth in utter fury. Even steam soon began to flare out from his ears. Knowing that he was on the verge of exploding, the three women nervously began to take a few steps backwards, away from the combustible object that was about to blow up.

Since the beginning, Bob had been very reluctant to take on Scheck. He had virtually no credibility on being a reliable ally, as many people still grudgingly remember him as someone who was going to sell them and their neighbourhoood out, only to help stop Von Scheck because the man tried to swindle him from his business. Yet privately, very privately he felt intimidated by him. How could he not? What man, despite being in prison, manages to not only retain his influence, but also within the span of more than a month after getting out of prison, virtually recuperates all virtues of power and position? Regardless if it done within the law or not. For Bob, this only served to remind him that Von Scheck was not only a man to be respected, but also to be feared.

Ever the prideful man, this was a hard pill for Bob to swallow. Yet he nevertheless did it to protect his family. However, Bob grudgingly began the feel the bottom of Von Scheck's foot with every scenario unfolding. First he came back, triggering resentment from some residents and even from some of his customers about his former role in affiliating himself with him. Then came the shocking news that the neighbourhood had to be torn down, forcing Bob, against his will, to sell his house and move elsewhere. This also included the fact he was also forced to close down one of his stores, located within the neighbourhood. This was already hard enough, but it became almost unbearable for him because it was the first store his business ever had! That particular store was his baby. It was from there where he began to expand his business throughout the city. That store made his business possible! Yet he nevertheless swallowed the pain away and did what he had to do and closed it down. Then there was also the terribly irritated notion that he and everyone else had only about a month to move out, giving them very little time to get their things in order, much less look for another place to live.

With each passing moment, Bob began to resent the constant push and of being swept aside like he was nothing. Yet despite his wounded pride, he was willing to go along with all of this...until now.

First he tries to swindle me! Bob thought, growing more and more angry by the second. Then he comes back and nearly makes me a pariah in my own neighbourhood and with my own customers! Then he has the nerve to push me and my family out of our home and forcing me to close down one of my stores! And now, NOW, that rotten, swiveling, no-good psychopath freak has the mojo to kidnap my daughter and hold her hostage?! THAT'S IT!

Finally reaching his boiling point,

"SCHECK!" Bob furiously screamed at the top of his lungs, his face still burning red. "HOW DARE YOU!"

"Where's my army gear?!" He angrily demanded.

"Um, still up in our room." Miriam nervously spoke.

Bob then rushed back upstairs, went into his room and began to immediately change. Soon, he rushed back down, lost in a fit of rage.

"When I get my hands on that double-crossing, kidnapping, rotten thief, I'm going to beat the living s*** out of him!" He angrily roared as he descended down the stairs.

Uh oh. Lila worryingly thought as she realized that Bob was going to confront Von Scheck on his own. I think my message may have worked too well.

"Mr. Pataki, wait! You can't go there by yourself. I'm ever so sure that it's too dangerous and the building is heavily guarded." Lila said to him.

"Let them try and stop me!" Bob angrily roared back as he continued marching towards the door. "Nothing is going to stop me from getting to him! I'm going to tear him apart!"

"B, you can't!" Miriam exclaimed and grabbed hold of his arms and tried to prevent him from leaving the house

"Daddy, please wait!" Olga then exclaimed, even going in front of him. "Lila and Mom are right; it's much too dangerous and I'm sure that's what Von Scheck is expecting."

Bob however, completely lost in his rage, did not listen and just continued to make his way out of the house, despite his eldest daughter and wife trying to hold them at bay. Despite their best attempts, they were not able to stop Bob as he slowly made his way to the door. Too consumed with anger, he had lost all attempts at reason. Even his eyes no longer revealed a person inside. With glaring, reddish piercing eyes, one could only see a complex organism with a strong animalistic instinct to seek out its prey and completely devour him. Just as he was reaching the door, Lila then ran up in front of him and blocked his path.

"Mr. Pataki, wait!" Lila frantically said to him while holding her hands up. "Helga's not the only one in trouble! Arnold, Rodrigo, Gerald are also in there!"

"What?!" Both Olga and Miriam exclaimed in shock.

"Everyone is getting together at the boarding house to head to Future Tech's headquarters." Lila quickly explained. "Mr. Pataki, you can't go there alone and neither can everyone else on their own. I'm ever so sure we must all band together in order to help Helga and everyone else. It's their only chance!"

"B, listen to her!" Miriam yelled at Bob as she still continued to restrain him, but it did little good. Bob was too far gone into his anger and predator instinct to have even listened to what Lila had just said.

"B!" Miriam said as she then immediately went in front of Bob and looked at him right in the eyes. "Look at me, B! Look at me!" She cried out to him as she put her hands on his face and got him to look at her. "There's no point in you going there alone just so you can end up getting yourself killed! I'm not about to lose my husband AND daughter. We need everyone in the neighbourhood's help!"

Bob, who was lost in a wild fit of rage, growling, huffing and puffing throughout and giving an animalistic glare, just barely managed to hear his wife's words, allowing him to finally restrain himself a bit, enough for him to stop walking towards the door.

"I want her back too." Miriam continued with her pleading. "I want Ol-I mean Helga back here safe and sound. But I also don't want you to get yourself killed. Let everyone else help us."

"They..." Bob finally managed to mutter some words, despite still fuming and grinding his teeth, "won't...help us. Not after what I did. We're...alone in this."

"They will, B-" Miriam calmly tried to assure him.

"No they won't!" Bob then angrily yelled back. "Not after what I did! Everyone here knows that I tried to get rich off of Von Scheck tearing this place down years ago! I only switched sides because that no good, double-crossing, thief tried to swindle me from my business! Everyone still hates me because of that! They have been making that very clear this summer." He lamented a bit. "That's why we're on our own and why I'm going there now!"

"No B!" Miriam again yelled and tried to stop him.

"No Mr. Pataki, that's not true!" Lila frantically tried to reason with them. "everyone in the neighbourhood is coming out to help out! You are not alone in this fight, sir. We are all in this together! It wasn't just you that Von Scheck double-crossed. He lied to everyone! Everyone got duped by his plea to want to make this place better, when it was all a lie! Please, just come to the boarding house so that we can all go there and help!"

"She's right, B." Miriam said, also trying to calm him down and reason with him. "It's not just Helga that's in trouble. Her friends are also trapped in that God forsaken building. They'll help us, I know they will."

"They will help us, right Lila?" Miriam asked for her absolute reassurance.

"Yes, I'm ever so certain that they will." Lila confidently replied.

"See, B? We're not alone." Miriam then turned back to face her husband. "Let's just head over to the boarding house, get everyone together so we can get our daughter back, okay?"

Bob, who was still enraged, tried to see the logic behind both his wife's and Lila's words. As he continued to snarl, huff and puff, he slowly started coming to, managing at last to calm down. Slowly, his eyes still glaring, which would have visually and terrifyingly tore through any onlooker, began to disappear. His snarl, which at one point, contained saliva dripping down his mouth, also began to disappear. Slowly, but surely, Bob finally managed to get a hold of himself and see reason. As much as he wanted to go over there, tear that building and Von Scheck apart and find Helga, he knew that was a likely a suicide mission. Despite his anger and his wounded pride, he still had a man's job to do and that was to provide for his family. He still needed to be here.

"O...kay..." Bob grunted as he continued to calm down.

"Okay." Miriam said with a bit of a smile.

However just in case, Miriam still held onto him, while still trying to calm him down by rubbing his chest and back. Olga too cautiously continued to hold onto his arm, just in case if he decided to have second thoughts.

"Let's go, little sister." Olga said to Lila as the four then started making their way to the boarding house.

Lila sighed in relief as they made their way, glad that they had averted a major 'change' in plans. Seeing Bob like this was something very new to her. She had been inside the Pataki's house many times to know that Bob had a temper. But never, had she ever seen him this angry. It was actually a very frightening spectacle to see. His anger completely changed him. He looked more like a raging wild animal than human. Yet despite the frightening scene, Lila couldn't help but let out a small smile.

He really does care about her. She thought.

Harold...

Harold ran as fast as he could, even while he was now profusely sweating and panting, he still continued to make his way towards his destination.

"I'm...almost...there!" He said to himself as he breathed heavily. "Phew, it's so hot and it's still only morning!"

Nevertheless, he still preferred this job rather than the one Rodrigo, Arnold, Sid volunteered for. There was no way he was going to do what they were doing.

As he expected, he soon saw the house of the person he was supposed to talk to. Actually, Harold even saw the person outside, quietly attending his garden. They have not seen in each other for some years. Yet, given how close he and friends all became with him, Harold felt confident that there was no way the person would ever forget him, or Arnold for that matter and thus would not hesitate to offer his help. What's more, given where the person works, he had an invested interest on the assurance that the neighbourhood should not be torn down.

"Mr. Simmons, Mr. Simmons!" Harold yelled as he approached him.

Mr. Simmons stopped what he was doing and turned around where he heard someone call out his last name.

"Harold?" He said his name once he saw him running towards him. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise." He continued, now with a smile.

Harold finally approached him, but because of all the running, he was now out of breath and could only just gasp for air.

Mr. Simmons still taught fourth, fifth and sixth grade at PS 118. In the seven years since Arnold and his friends graduated from fifth grade, Mr. Simmons now had gray hair growing on the sides of his hair along with a few wrinkles. However, he still mostly remained the same and his soft, nurturing personality, along with his passion to teach remained as strong as ever.

"Why were you running, Harold?" Mr. Simmons curiously asked him.

"Mr...Simmons..." Harold tried to talk, but still needed to catch his breath.

"Just relax, Harold and continue taking deep and calming breaths." Mr. Simmons instructed him.

"Right..." Harold said as he complied and took deep breaths.

"Okay, now what's this all about?" Mr. Simmons asked once Harold managed to catch his breath.

"I'm so sorry bother you, Mr. Simmons," Harold then began to explain. "But I really need your help."

"You were never a bother, Harold." Mr. Simmons said with a smile. "And I will be glad to help to you. Just tell me what's the matter."

"It's Arnold, Mr. Simmons." Harold finally began to explain. "He's in trouble!"

"Arnold?" Mr. Simmons asked, now worried. "What happened?"

"Well, you know about the whole situation with Future Tech trying to tear down our neighbourhood again, right?" Harold asked.

"Yes, I am aware." Mr. Simmons responded.

"Well, Arnold has been trying to stop Von Scheck from doing that! But so far, no such luck. He then decided to go over to his headquarters with Gerald, Helga and some of our friends and confront him personally. But he's been gone for a while and we can't seem to get a hold of-"

"Arnold went to confront Von Scheck; after what he did to him last time?!" Mr. Simmons exclaimed in shock, realizing the gravity of the situation. "What was he thinking?! Oh, this is so terrible!"

"It is!" Harold agreed.

"We need to get over to that building, right now!" Mr. Simmons frantically exclaimed as he dropped all of his gardening tools, hat and apron to the ground. "But wait!" He then said. "We can't go there on our own. It won't do things any good if it's only the two of us. No. We need to get everyone together."

"I agree, sir." Harold said. "The rest of us are gathering everyone together at Arnold's old house, but that won't be enough. That's why I was hoping if you could make some calls."

"Calls?" Mr. Simmons asked.

"Yes. You know a lot of people, sir; parents, Principal Wartz, other teachers. Many of the kids that go to PS 118 live in the neighroubhood, right?"

"Well, yes. They do." Mr. Simmons agreed.

"Well, if you can call them and tell them what happened with Arnold and what will happen to the school if the neighbourhood is torn down; many of those those kids will have to move and go to another school, which will force PS 118 to close down, I think that will really help." He suggested.

"And have them do what?" Mr. Simmons asked.

"Have them meet everyone else at the Future Tech building to protest against everything that company has been doing!" Harold exclaimed.

"Do you have a permit to hold a protest there?" Mr. Simmons asked.

"No, we don't sir." Harold said. "Our permit, coincidentally got declined. That's why Arnold decided to go there and confront Von Scheck. There was no other choice. That's why we need to rally as many people as we can; to show to the Mayor and the company how many of us are angry and permit or not, we will not stand by and watch this city's historical distract get torn down and our closet friend get hurt!"

Mr. Simmons thought about it for a second, but he was unconvinced.

"Oh, I don't know Harold." He said to him. "This all seems a bit too dangerous. What if the city calls the police and SWAT team to disperse us?"

"It's a risk we're going to have to take." Harold said to him. "Please Mr. Simmons! Arnold is inside that building, helpless. He risked going inside in order to try and stop a company from uprooting hundreds of residents. He's done it before and now he is trying to do it again. But, he can't do it alone. He needs our help. Isn't this what you always taught us? To always do the right thing and help others? This is what we are trying to do; help our friends and those that have no voice."

"You're right, Harold!" He said to him, finally convinced. "This has gone far enough and we need everyone to speak out!" He said to him as he ran inside his house, grabbed his cell phone and phone book and then came out, but not before locking it first.

"Come on!" Mr. Simmons said to him as he started walking back to the boarding house, all awhile dialing his cell to make his first important call.

Not far away…

*ring**ring**ring*

"Principal Wartz, speaking." Principal Wartz, PS 118's current Principal answered his home phone.

"Oh Mr. Simmons, how can I help you? Arnold? Arnold Shortman? Yes, I remember him. Yes, I also remember Gerald, Phoebe and especially Helga-what is this about?" He asked him as Mr. Simmons frantically explained to him. "WHAT?! Kidnapped by Von Scheck?! That sniveling little corporate weasel. First he wants to deplete our student body by forcing many of them to move away and now he's kidnapped some of this school's most memorable students? Well good sir, I will not have it! Yes, I'm going to be making some calls right now! Where? The Sunset Arms? Why are you going there? Oh, alright, I'll be meet you there."

Principal Wartz immediately got off some his couch, went upstairs and began to get himself ready before heading it.

After seven years ago and of still maintaining strict discipline at the old elementary school, Principal Wartz had aged quite a bit. He now had a full grown mustache, his hair had gotten considerably more white and had gotten fatter.

Once he was ready, he quickly grabbed his phone book and cell and quickly headed out to meet up with everyone else at the Sunset Arms.

Patty...

Patty ran towards her destination, even with the heat now blazing throughout the city, causing her to sweat. Yet, she did not relent, knowing her friends depended on her.

Almost...there. She thought as she panted and ran past Mrs. Vitello's flower shop. Her house isn't too far from her.

Patty continued to run a few blocks down, until she finally made it. Patty quickly climbed up the stoop and began to frantically bang on the door.

"Mrs. Vitello! Mrs. Vitello!" Patty cried out as she continued to bang on her door.

Not wanting to upset her, Patty took small breaks throughout each scene and waited for Mrs. Vitello to answer. When she did not hear her approaching, she resumed her banging, only to stop again to hear anything from the other side of the door. Finally, after trying for the third time, Patty hear footsteps and the door was eventually unlocked and opened.

"Wh-what is it?" Mrs. Vitello answered, still half asleep when she opened the door to see Patty Smith. "Young lady, what is the meaning of this?" She then sternly asked her, now looking irritated. "What's with all the banging and ruckus?" She continued to grumble.

"I'm so sorry to wake you up, Mrs. Vitello," Patty began to say while still panting heavily from the running. "but it's important. It's Arnold, ma'am."

"Arnold?" Mrs. Vitello asked. "What about him?"

"He's...He's in trouble, Mrs. Vitello!" Patty then frantically exclaimed. "I tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen!"

"Trouble? What do you mean? With whom?" Mrs. Vitello asked.

"With Von Scheck!" Patty exclaimed. "He went over to the FTI building with some of our friends to try and confront him and, well, it's been a while now and we haven't heard from him-"

"Arnold went to confront Von Scheck?! After what he did to him?!" Mrs. Vitello exclaimed in horror when she heard this. "What was he thinking?! We need to go over there and save him!"

"Yes, please!" Patty pleaded.

"Did you talk to Mr. Green yet?" Mrs. Vitello asked.

"No, not yet." Patty replied. "I was going to go and see him after I spoke with you."

"Well, we need to head over there, right away!" Mrs. Vitello said. "Arnold is depending on us! Oh, um, let me just quickly change." She said a bit embarrassingly as she then went upstairs to change.

Patty initially waited patiently for Mrs. Vitello get ready. Considering the urgency, she didn't think she would take long. However, as the minutes rolled by, Patty soon became impatient, as she continued to wait by the door, with her arms crossed and tapping the ground with her foot.

Where is she?! The female teen frustratingly thought. Oohh, what's taking her so long!

Patty knew that with every minute lost, was a minute Arnold, everyone else and the whole operation was in danger of failing. She really couldn't afford to wait!

Just be patient, she is an older person, that's why it's taking her so long to get dressed. Just breath. Patty tried to calm herself down in thought.

Finally, Patty heard Mrs. Vitello coming downstairs.

"Ready." She said as she continued her descent. "Let's go."

Patty, relieved, smiled and both she and Mrs. Vitello descended down the stoop and quickly made their way to see Mr. Green.

Mr. Green was at his shop, sadly grabbing the last items that were still there before he would lock the door one last time and say his goodbye to the place.

I can't believe this is actually happening. He thought, almost in tears. He came back stronger than ever. Not even Arnold had been able to beat him this time around. I guess Von Scheck finally did it. I guess he-

"Mr. Green!" Patty then suddenly shouted his last name as she and Mrs. Vitello quickly approached him.

"Huh?" Mr. Green said as he turned around toward the direction from where Patty and Mrs. Vitello were coming.

"Patty? Mrs. Vitello?" What's going on?" Mr. Green asked when he saw them frantically approaching him.

"We're so glad we caught up with you." Mrs. Vitello said. "Something's terrible has happened!"

"What?" Mr. Green asked.

"It's Arnold, Mr. Green." Patty then said. "He's in trouble! You see, he went over to-"

"Von Scheck has Arnold!" Mrs. Vitello then suddenly interjected. "He went to the FTI building to confront Von Scheck, but now he is being held against his will!"

"Wait, what?" Patty said, looking stunned that Mrs. Vitello somewhere twisted her words. "Mrs. Vitello, I didn't-"

"What?! Arnold's been kidnapped?!" Mr. Green then interrupted Patty, shocked. "What was the boy thinking? Why would he go and confront Von Scheck, knowing what he will probably do to him for locking him up?"

"I mean I know Gerald always said he was a bold kid, but this is crazy! We gotta do something!" Mr. Green continued.

"We can, Mr. Green." Patty then said. "We're trying to alert everyone in the neighbourhood about this and get everyone to head over to the FTI building and help Arnold."

"Then let's go! No more games. We're all going to confront Von Scheck and put a stop to this nonsense!" Mr. Green said as all three of them began to head back to the boarding house. "I'm going to make some calls in order to make more 'noise' about this and get everyone to know about this!"

"Great! The more the merrier." Patty remarked as the trio quickly made their way to the boarding house.

Sheena…

Sheena quickly ran towards her destination, or in her case, destinations. Some what to her frustration, she was in charge of speaking to several people at once! So for her, time was really of the essence! Luckily for her, she had a bit of a break. They had been tipped the day prior that some of the people she was looking for were going to rendezvous together early that very morning. Whether it was coincidental, or predetermined, that was irrelevant. What mattered was that this rendezvous would save Sheena critical time.

Where are they? Sheena thought as she ran through the city blocks. Rodrigo said they'd be here somewhere, but I can't…

Suddenly, Sheena stopped when she instantly heard faint music. She wasn't sure if the music was loud and she just far away or if she was close. Whatever the case, Sheena looked around to hear where the music was coming from.

Where is it coming from? She thought to herself as she continued to look around. I think it's coming from...that direction. She turned to her right and headed towards that direction.

Thankfully, her instinct was proven to be correct. The music got louder and louder as she continued to run and looked every alleyway she came across.

Almost there. She thought. Geez, it's so hot already! I'm glad the trees and flowers are getting the necessary sunlight, but this is ridiculous!

Sheena then ran right through a particular alleyway and passed it, only for her to stop dead in her tracks when she noticed something. She walked back and after peeking in, saw the people she was looking for.

There they are! She happily thought to herself and began to walk towards them.

Sheena wasn't really sure why Rodrigo had asked her to speak to them when he could have done it himself. They were his friends. He knows them and would have listened to him, not Sheena. They had only seen her around a few times with Rodrigo in the past, but that's it! Sheena doubted they would even remember her, let alone hear what she had to say. All Rodrigo told her, apart from to tell them that Arnold was trouble, to explicitly state that Sid was with Arnold and he too was in trouble.

I get with Arnold, but why the heavy emphasis on Sid as well? Sheena wondered.

Whatever the reason, Sheena timidly walked forward, closer to Rodrigo's friends who were apparently oblivious as they just continued talking with each other while the stereo continued to play. As soon as she walked into the alleyway, she saw four teens there. She knew their names, but she wasn't sure who was who. She wasn't even sure how she was going to address them. Should she say 'good morning' to them and introduce herself? Should she just tell them what the issue was?

Oh, this is too stressful! Sheena nervously thought.

Nevertheless, she continued to walk towards them, until finally,

"Um, excuse me?" She said to them, but the teens didn't hear her. They didn't even see her since they had their backs towards her.

"Excuse me." She said a bit louder this time, getting their attention and turning around to face her.

"Yes?" One of them asked.

"Um, hi," Sheena nervously began to speak, "you may not know me, but I'm a friend of Rodrigo. He asked me to come and speak with all of you because he needs your help."

"And you are?" One of the other teens asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sheena." She responded. "I got to the same high school as you guys do."

"You do?" Another teen asked, not really recognizing her.

"Come to think of it, I have seen you around." Another teen remarked. "Aren't you the girl whose always concerned about the environment and have been spreading awareness about climate change at our school?"

"Why yes, I have." Sheena answered, a bit happy and relieved that they recognized her a bit.

"Right. You're Sheena!" One of the female teens said.

"Yes!" Sheena happily said. "And you're are...?"

"David." He said.

"Sebastian." He said.

"Gabriela." She said.

"Carmen." She said.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Sheena politely said.

"Same here." Gabriela said. "So what's this thing about Rodrigo needing our help? Is he in trouble?"

"He might be." Sheena said, now with a serious tone. "I'm sure you guys have heard about our neighbourhood being torn down?" She asked.

"Yeah, we heard." David replied. "It's terrible what you guys are going through."

"It is." Sheena agreed. "Well, Rodrigo and all of our friends have been trying to stop them from destroying our homes. So far, no such luck." She continued with a sad look.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sebastian remarked.

"Thanks." Sheena said. "Well, things have become a bit desperate and with no other option, one of our friends, Arnold decided to go over to the headquarters of Future Tech Industries, along with Rodrigo and some of other friends to confront its CEO, Von Scheck and get him to stop-"

"WHAT?!" All four teens then exclaimed in shock.

"Why would Arnold do something so dumb, especially if he was the one who put Von Scheck away ?!" David exclaimed, now all four realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Dude, we gotta do something." Sebastian frantically said. "Who knows what the guy will do to them."

"Who else went with Arnold and Rodrigo?" Gabriela asked.

"Well, I don't know if you know them, but it was Gerald, Helga, Rhonda, Stinky, Peapod Kid and Sid that went-"

"SID?!" Carmen shouted in pure horror when Sheena said his name. "Rodrigo allowed mi amor to put himself in danger by going over there?!" She angrily shouted at Sheena.

"Um yeah." Sheena said, a bit taken aback by Carmen's sudden aggression.

"What was he thinking?!" Carmen continued to angrily, but also worriedly shout. "Guys, we need to go right now and save them!"

"But what we can do?" David asked. "It's only the four of us. Okay five, if you count Sheena."

"We're not alone in this." Sheena then said. "The rest of us have been alerting everyone in the neighbourhood about this and we are rendezvousing at the Sunset Arms boarding house before we march off to the FTI building and confront Von Scheck. It would help us a lot if you guys come with us."

"Hell ya." Sebastian confidently said. "Count us in."

"Have you spoken with his parents yet?" Gabriela asked.

"No, not yet." Sheena said. "I'm was going to see them after I spoke with you guys."

"Okay. Let's go with you to his house and get his parents before we meet with everyone else." Gabriela said, to which everyone nodded in agreement.

Wasting no time, all five teens then quickly made their way back into the neighbourhood and for Rodrigo's house. David quickly grabbed his boombox and turned it off before then running to catch up with the rest of them.

At Rodrigo's house...

It took them a while, but the teens finally made it to Rodrigo's house. Upon reaching the door, Sheena quickly pressed the doorbell a few times and impatiently waited for the door to open. Luckily for them, they didn't have to wait long.

"Yes?" Alfonso said to the teens when he opened the door. "Oh Gabby, glad to see you here." He said to her with a smile when he recognized.

"Mr. Castile," Sheena then spoke, getting his attention, "my name is Sheena and I'm friend of both Arnold and Rodrigo - "

"Oh, please to meet you, Sheena." Before Alfonso interjected by politely greeting her. "But I'm afraid Rodrigo is not here. He's over at Arnold's house at the moment."

"Actually sir, that's why I'm here." Sheena said. "I'm afraid Rodrigo and Arnold might be in trouble."

"Trouble?" Alfonso asked, now getting a bit worried. "What happened?

"Rodrigo and Arnold went over to the FTI building to confront Von Scheck to try and stop them, but now they might have been kidnapped, Mr. Castile!" Gabriela then interrupted her. "We need to go over there and help them!"

"Wha..?" Sheena said, looking really surprised. "Uh Gabriela, that's not what I said-"

"Von Scheck?! Oh no!" Alfonso shockingly exclaimed. "What were Rodrigo and Arnold thinking of going over there?! We need to get over there, now!"

"Elisa! Amor!" Alfonso then quickly went back inside to inform his wife, while the five teens waited at the entrance.

It took very little time before they both adults came running back.

"Oh mi hijo! Virgen santa!" Elisa worriedly shouted as she ran towards the door and tried to quickly put her shoes on.

"Quickly, let's take my car and head over there!" Alfonso hurriedly ran outside and was about to head around the block when he heard someone call him.

"Mr. Castile, wait!" Sheena yelled at him, prompting him to stop. "We can't go over there by ourselves; it won't do Arnold and Rodrigo any good. We need to head over to Arnold's house to wait for everyone else to arrive before we can head over there."

"Everyone else?" Elisa asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Castile." Sheena replied. "Our friends are quickly telling everyone in the neighbourhood about this and are rendezvousing at Arnold's house. Once everyone is there, we will head over to the FTI building in full force!"

"Okay, let's head over there now!" Elisa said and everyone started to quickly running towards Arnold's house.

Back at the boarding house...

After Phil got dressed, he immediately called Gerald's, Sid's and Stinky's parents and informed them of the situation. Like everyone else, they were shocked at what they heard and immediately headed to the boarding house to meet up with everyone.

Phil wasn't the only one making calls. Ernie, Mr. Hyunh, Mr. Green, Alfonso Castile, Mrs. Vitello, Martin Johanssen, even Rodrigo's friends were all making calls, trying to get as many people as possible to come and help. Oskar was also going to make some calls, but everyone at the boarding house had to politely 'discourage' him doing that, finding his connections to be a bit dubious.

Despite how quickly everything was unfolding, trying to get everyone to call others, explain to them the situation, and attempt to rendezvous at the boarding house was taking far longer than anyone anticipated. At one point, Phil and Gertie got so anxious and no longer wanting to wait, attempted to head over there on their own with Phil's Packard. However, Nadine talked them out of it and assured them everyone else was on their way. Phil and Gertie, as desperate as they were to get their grandson back safely, heeded Nadine's words and waited. Slowly but surely, as Nadine promised, people started to slowly arrive at the boarding house.

Gerald's family were the first to arrive, followed by Sid's and Stinky's parents. After some further waiting, Patty arrived with Mr. Green and Mrs. Vitello.

Harvey, the neighbourhood's old mailman had also arrived.

"Hey man, I got here as soon as Phil told me what happened to Arnold." He said to everyone who was there. Do we have any information about them?"

"None so far." Martin Johanseen responded. "We're just waiting for a few more people before we all head over there."

Just as Harvey arrived, Lila arrived soon after with Olga, Miriam and Bob Pataki, who was on his phone talking to someone as they arrived.

"Listen, I don't care what you think of me!" He bellowed out through his cell. "But if you want to continue doing business with me, you'll get your kickster over to that FTI building pronto! For pete's sake, your house is about to get torn down and all you can think about is what I did seven years ago? Get your priorities in order, got it?! Good!" And then hanged up on the person, before then dialing again another number as he irritatingly grumbled.

Harold's, Lila's, Sheena's, Nadine's and Patty's parents, or parent in the case of Lila, also began to arrive. After personally speaking to their respective people, they opted to use their cell phones to communicate with their parents so as to inform them of the situation. Why didn't they just also use their cell phones to talk to Mr. Simmons, Mr. Green, Mrs. Vitello, Bob Pataki, Alfonso and Rodrigo's friends? Rodrigo had specifically asked them to personally seek them out and talk to them, citing that their presence would inject a stronger sense of fear and worry than if they spoke to them on the phone. Essentially, making things a bit dramatic. Rodrigo and Arnold specifically asked their friends to speak to those people because they had bigger connections.

Harold also began to arrive with Mr. Simmons who was also speaking to someone on the phone.

"Yes, Mrs. Henderson, that is correct." Mr. Simmons spoke on his cell. "Everyone will be heading down there soon. Just gather all the other parents within your neighbourhood and ask them to meet us there. It's important that everyone shows up. We need to demonstrate our strength and our resolve to both Von Scheck and Mayor Dixie and get them stop this demolition. Great. Thank you." He continued before finally hanging up.

"Well, that's the last of them." Mr. Simmons said to Harold. "I just hope this will be enough."

Pretty soon, they arrived at the boarding house from one end, followed by Lila and her group coming from the other end.

Principal Wartz also arrived at the boarding house, almost looking as if he was ready for a fight.

"Alright, I'm here." He then said to everyone. "We should be heading there soon" He said to Mr. Simmons.

"We will, Principal Wartz." Mr. Simmons assured him.

"Oh for crying out of loud, would you drop that already?!" Bob bellowed out on his cell again. "That happened seven years ago, so put a lid on it. N-No, I'm not siding with Von Scheck again! I'm heading over there to tear him apart for holding Archibald and Olga hostage! I mean Arnold and Helga. Just head over now! I'll be there soon." He exclaimed before hanging op. "Sheesh! People can hold a serious grudge." He remarked.

"Oh I know, sweety." Miriam said as she patted him on his back.

As Bob, his family and Lila arrived at the boarding house, he looked around to see how they were all going to get to the FTI building.

"Alright little lady, just how are you planning on getting all of these people over to Future Tech's headquarters?" He bluntly asked Lila.

"There should be a bus coming to take us." Lila replied.

"Bus? What bus?" Bob asked.

"Let me go see, Mr. Pataki." Lila said as she made her way towards Nadine.

"Nadine, is Murray coming?" She asked her.

"He is. He should be almost here." Nadine responded.

Just then, a car suddenly appeared, driving well above the speed limit and screeched as it suddenly stopped and parked right in front of the boarding house, surprising everyone with just how fast it arrived. Then, two people suddenly got out of the car and based on the facial expressions on their faces, they looked extremely worried, if not frightened.

"Phil, thank goodness you're here." Buckley Lloyd frantically said as he approached the older man. "Where's our dear Rhonda? Is she here?"

"Nadine!" Brooke Lloyd worriedly called out to her when she saw her. "Do you know where our Rhonda is? Please tell me you know where she is and that she is safe."

"Whoa, whoa there nelly!" Phil said, trying to calm them down. "You two don't know where she is?"

"No." Buckley worriedly said. "We knew she was going to spend the night here with Arnold and everyone else. But then, one of our servants was cleaning her bedroom this morning and she found a note." Buckley explained as he took out the note from his coat pocket. "She didn't specify what she was going to do, other than her saying that she has to do something that is dangerous, but is going to help a lot of people and asked us to not be angry with her and that she loves us. Just-where is she?" Buckley asked again.

After the teams departed from the boarding house that fateful morning, Nadine called Chester, Rhonda's butler, to come over. Once he arrived, she gave him the envelope that Rhonda had given her the night prior and gave Chester explicit instructions to take the envelope with him, but was not to open it until she gave him the all clear. Chester, despite being confused about it, did as he was instructed and kept the envelope with him until he received the call from Nadine to give it to his employers.

"I'm afraid she's not here." Phil said to them. "She went with Arnold and some of their friends over to the FTI building to confront Von Scheck to try to stop him from tearing this-"

"WHAT?!" Both Buckley and Brooke yelled in utter shock.

"Why would Arnold do something so dangerous?!" Buckley shockingly asked.

"And why would our dear Rhonda go there with him?" Brooke then asked.

"I won't lie to the both of you; I don't have a clue." Phil shrugged. "Teenagers I tell ya. But what I do is that we need to get over there right now! That's why everyone is here; were heading over there and get our kids back!"

"Quite right, Phil." Buckley agreed. "Let's go my dear. We'll drive there as quickly as possible." He said to his wife, but then noticed that there were a lot of people at the front of boarding house and his car was the only one that he could see.

"Um Phil, just how are you and everyone else getting there?" Buckley asked him.

"Nadine?" Phil then asked her, giving the spotlight back to her.

"We know some one who drives a bus and had agreed to take us there." Nadine explained. "He should be coming right about...now."

Just then, a public bus appeared and instantly stopped right in front of the boarding house, with the tires making the usual loud screeching and hissing sound.

"All board." Murray said as he opened the doors.

"About time." Bob muttered.

Murray then got up from his seat and hopped out of the bus.

Suddenly, the door to the boarding house swung right open, revealing Gertie, dressed and ready for battle. She had a pair of army boots with an army outfit that was specifically for jungle warfare, along with a green, military style bandanna around her head.

"Alright troops! Let's get a move on it!" She shouted and started making her way towards the bus and then hopping on.

"Is everyone here?" Murray randomly asked.

"Yes, everyone is here." Nadine replied as she approached Murray.

"I thought there'd be more." Murray remarked, looking a bit confused at the low number of people who were waiting for him.

"The rest will be meeting us there." Nadine said.

"That's more than enough to take Von Scheck on!" Bob retorted. "Now you heard the old windbag, stand aside and let us in!" He continued and moved past Murray, almost pushing him aside, as he climbed onto the bus.

Everyone then started making their way into the bus when suddenly, another vehicle, this time a taxi, suddenly pulled over in front of the boarding house, behind the bus. A couple then quickly got out.

"Thanks again." The man said as he quickly paid the taxi driver his fee.

"Miles? Stella?" Phil said, surprised when he recognized them. "What are you two doing here?"

"We heard that Von Scheck was released from prison and was threatening the neighbourhood again." Miles explained. "We assumed Arnold would try and stop him again, so we came here as soon as we could. We we're that he might get into trouble."

"Really? Well you two surely arrived right on time." He said as he pointed to the bus. "Almost as if someone planned this whole reunion." He remarked. "But, I'm afraid you're a bit late."

"Again." Bob softly grumbled.

"Arnold and some of his friends are already in trouble. They went to confront Von Scheck and haven't been heard from for a while now." Phil explained to them.

"WHAT?!" Both Miles and Stella exclaimed in shock.

"What is this, a family reunion? Let's go already!" Bob annoyingly bellowed out through the bus window.

"Right." Phil said. "C'mon you two! We're heading over to Von Scheck's headquarters to get the kids back. I'll explain everything else later."

Everyone then started to get on the bus one by one. Nadine was almost at the far back, waiting for her turn to get on when suddenly,

"Nadine!" Someone called out to her.

"Eugene?!" Nadine exclaimed in surprised when she turned to face the person who called her name. "What are you doing here?" She asked him. "When did you get out of the hospital?"

"This morning." Eugene softly replied as he carefully limped his way towards her with his crutch, while still wrapped up in bandages. "The doctor said that I was good enough to be released. I just have to be careful."

"That's great news!" Nadine happily said. "But, why aren't you at home resting?"

"I want to still help out with saving the neighbourhood." Eugene said. "I tried calling Arnold, Gerald and Rodrigo, but they weren't answering. So, I made my way here, hoping to see them."

"What's going on?" He asked when he said everyone else there and getting on the bus.

"It's a long story." Nadine said. "But you should head home. You need to rest, Eugene."

"No, I'm okay, really." Eugene insisted. "I want to help out. I live here too, you know."

"I know Eugene, but you are still injured and need to recover." Nadine also insisted. "We are all heading over to the FTI building to help Arnold out and I'm afraid things could get a bit ugly."

"I promise that I won't get in the way." Eugene still protested. "Really, I just want to be there for everyone."

"Oh Eugen..." Nadine began to protest again,

"Nadine," when Eugene then suddenly spoke again, this time with an unusual stern tone, "either I go with you on that bus, or I'll head over to the FTI building on my own. Either way, I'm going."

That took Nadine by surprise. She had never seen Eugene be this serious, let alone this determined before. Seeing as how serious he really was about helping out, she relented.

"Oh okay." She said. "You can come. But, please don't get too involved. Even I won't be able to do much, due to my broken arm."

"Yes!" Eugene happily exclaimed. "Thank you Nadine! I promise I won't expose myself to any danger."

Eugene then got in line and waited until it was their turn to get on the bus.

"Come on, single file please. No pushing." Gertie said as she gestured to everyone to get inside the bus. "Oh, hello dear. Good to see you both again." She said to Miles and Stella with a smile when she saw them.

"Hi mom." Miles said as he greeted his mother.

"Take a back seat dear, behind the yellow line." She then said to them.

Miles and Stella complied and went to take a seat, unaware of where Gertie was sitting.

Eugene and Nadine then slowly hopped onto the bus, followed by the last few passengers, with Murray at the very back. As soon as the last passenger, hopped on, Gertie then instantly closed the doors, leaving Murray outside.

"Hey!" Murray exclaimed when the doors closed right in front of him, leaving him outside.

"Uh mom," Miles then said, albeit a bit nervously, "why are you sitting on the driver's seat?"

"Pookie, you left the bus driver outside!" Phil shouted when he realized where his wife was.

"No time for that. Let's roll." Gertie said with a serious tone and then immediately pressed on the accelerator, prompting the bus to instantly start moving forward, accelerating fast and forcing people back.

"Hey, crazy lady!" Murray shouted as he started running towards the bus. "Stop the bus!"

It was not certain if Gertie accidentally closed the doors prematurely, or if she did it intentionally to commandeer the bus. Whatever the case, the group was on their way as the bus started to rapidly gain speed, leaving Murray completely in the dust.

"Whoa!" Bob exclaimed when the bus suddenly swiveled left and right. "Hey buddy, take it easy over there, would ya?! We want to get there in one piece!" He exclaimed.

"He would have, if he was the one driving!" Phil exclaimed as he held on for dear life.

"What the?" Bob said, now confused. "Then who's driving the bus?" He asked.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Gertie just hysterically laughed as she then made a sharp turn.

"Oh crimeny, not the old windba – whoa!" He then exclaimed again when he felt the force of the sharp turn

"Whoa man!" Harvey exclaimed as he held on tightly on to the bus rails.

"WHHOOAAA!" Everyone else also exclaimed and felt the force push them to their right when the bus suddenly turned left, pushing many of the passengers over to the other side.

"Oh Christo! Esta vieja es una loca!" (Oh Christ! This old lady is crazy!) David frighteningly shouted as he held on for dear life.

"Pookie, be careful!" Phil nervously shouted at her.

"Oh pipe down, you old glum." Gertie retorted back. "Arnold and his friends are in trouble and we need to get there ASAP!"

"Hey Mickey! Tell your mother not get us all killed!" Bob yelled at Miles.

"It's Miles." Miles back at him with a frown. "But mom, he does a point. Please slow down a bit!"

"Gertie, I appreciate your concern for the kids," Suzie then spoke out, "but could you also slow down when making turns?"

"What? No! Sid's in trouble in we need to get there, fast!" Carmen frantically countered. "Faster Mrs. Shortman!"

"Faster? I like the way you think, missy. Hold on tight!" Gertie tauntingly said as she made another sharp turn, forcing the bus' right tires to lift above the ground as it turned.

"WWWHHOOAAA!" Everyone then shouted as they felt the full force of the turn.

"Hang on, Eugene!" Nadine said as she tried to help him by preventing him from colliding with the seat, bars or window.

"I had no idea Arnold's grandmother was insane!" Principal Wartz softly remarked as he held on for dear life with Mr. Simmons beside him.

"Oh, I should have taken another bus." Eugene whined as he tried to hang on with his good arm.

*HONK**HONK*

"Move it slow poke! We have an emergency here!" Gertie shouted from out the driver's window as they passed the car that was in front of them.

"Oh mommy, are you alright?" Olga worriedly asked her mother when she saw her looked a little woozy.

"Uh, not really honey..." Miriam grunted as her face started looking a bit pale, if not green and even leaned forward a bit to look at the ground.

"Hold on, mommy! I'll see if I have a bag for you." Olga said as she frantically tried to look for some sort of bag in her purse.

But, it was too late. With the bus constantly swirling left and right, Miriam could no longer take it. Feeling that she was about to throw up, she quickly opened the window, stuck her head out and vomited.

"Aaahhhhhh!" A person from outside yelled in horror when he felt puke land right on top of him.

Gertie continued with her high speed driving, zooming through Hillwood's streets while violating virtually ever traffic rules and regulations. Luckily, or unluckily however you want to see it, the traffic lights have all thus far been green, allowing Gertie to drive right through them. Everyone meanwhile continued to hang on and hoped they would get there on time to help Arnold and his friends, as well hoping they would make it there alive.

*Ssccrreettccchhh*

Gertie then suddenly pressed on the brakes, forcing everyone to lean forward, or even tumble down to the floor, since the stop was sudden.

"Why did we stop?" Elisa asked.

"Looks like there's a traffic jam." Gertie commented, pointing out in front of the bus.

Miles, Stella, Phil, Bob, Alfonso, Martin, Ernie and Buckley then went in front of the bus to look for themselves.

"If there's a traffic jam, where are all the cars?" Ernie asked. "I only see people on the road!"

"That's weird." Miles said. "Is there a festival happening on this street?"

"Hm, I don't think so." Buckley replied. "I don't see any stands, balloons, or anything 'festive' happening here."

"If I didn't know any better, this looks like a protest." Alfonso assumed. "Look at all the banners and signs."

"Protest for what?" Stella asked.

"Who cares?" Bob bellowed out. "If there are no cars, then that means we can drive through this crowd!" He said as he then went towards the steering wheel and honked on the horn. "Hey! Move it!"

Gertie then began to move the bus, albeit this time slowly as she continued to honk on the horn in order to get the people to move away. Slowly, the bus rolled forward, but considering the amount of people that were on the street, the bus was moving at a snail's pace.

"Maybe we should turn around and go another direction." Alfonso suggested. "We're moving too slow."

"No time, now." Gertie said. "This is the fastest way to get to the FTI building. We just need to make more noise to get everyone to move away."

Gertie then looked around the bus to see if there was anything that she could use to get the crowds attention and get them to move.

"Ah! This will do." Gertie said when she spotted a loudspeaker.

She grabbed it, turned it on, lowered the window and began to speak through it.

"Move over!" She yelled through the speaker. "This is an emergency! We need to get through!"

*HONK**HONK*

She honked the bus horn again. The crowd began to move faster on the side, allow Gertie to pass through a bit quicker, but it was still going too slowly.

As they trotted through, Stella then opened one of the bus window's and peeked her head out.

"Excuse me!" She called to one of the people down below. "What's going on here? Why are there so many people clambering around?"

"We're going to the FTI building to protest!" One of the people replied back to her.

"FTI?" She asked, surprised. "Why?"

"Ya, we heard about what FTI is trying to do and we won't stand for it!" Another person yelled. "We don't let them destroy this city's historical landmark!"

"Really?" Stella said, now shocked and but also a bit emotional at the level of support. "How did you hear about that?" She asked them.

One of the protesters grabbed his phone and showed it to her. "Through social media!" He replied. "Rhonda Lloyd sent a message to everyone through social media, explaining how FTI is a corrupt company that lied to everyone! She told us that she and Arnold have been trying to expose them of their corruption, but now they are now being haunted down by agents of the company and we're not going to stand for that! We're heading over there to help them and expose the truth!"

"You all know Arnold?" She asked them.

"Of course we do!" A female protester replied. "He's the heroic kid that stopped that same company from illegally tearing a whole neighbourhood down seven years ago! He's famous around here!"

"Arnold's my son!" Stella cried out. "I'm his mother! We're going to the FTI building too!"

"You're Arnold's mother?" Another person asked her.

"Yes! Arnold, Rhonda and his friends are in trouble and we need to get there as fast as possible!" Stella frantically replied back. "Please make room and let us through!"

Stella watched in amazement as word quickly spread throughout the crowd of their arrival. Everyone then turned around to look at the bus, only to then instantly move away from the bus' path, creating a pathway for the bus to trail through.

"Alright, we're in business again!" Gertie said as she tightened her bandanna again and began to accelerate once more. "Hold on to your hats!" She said as she began to rapidly gain speed.

Although still not able to reach highway speed, Gertie nevertheless felt confident that they will be able to get past the crowd in no time.

Suddenly, a loud banging sound was hearing on top of the bus.

"What was that?" Bob asked as he looked up.

"I'm not sure." Miles said. "Do you think something fell on the roof?"

Everyone inside the bus could see that something must have landed on top of the bus because the crowd started looking up and waving and cheering.

"Whatever, it's probably nothing. Let's just keep going!" Bob said dismissively.

"Right you are, Bob." Gertie said, as she pressed on the paddle for more gas.

"Monkey Man!" Monkey Man, now older and more mature looking, but still dedicated to protecting his city from evil and crime, yelled out on top of the bus as he raised his fist up in the air, amidst to the crowd cheering and raising their fists up in the air in support.

"Let's go everyone!" He yelled at the crowd. "We've got a neighbourhood and random citizens to save! To the FTI building! For Justice!"

"FOR JUSTICE!" The crowd, now protesters roared back and began following the bus with Monkey Man on top to take back their city and heroes.